7 Actionable

Habits of
Top Performers
What Sales Leaders Need to Know

Keep it simple. Drive results.

ValueSelling Associates and Selling Power recently conducted a
survey of more than 150 B2B senior sales leaders to identify the
mindsets, attributes and behaviors of top-performing salespeople.
For this report, we’ve defined top performers as those who
consistently exceed expectations.

The results of the survey uncovered 7 key habits that define top
performers in an organization. These habits – a combination of
What % of your reps do you
learned skills and inherent traits – set the best salespeople apart.
consider to be top performers?
Top performers practice these habits more, and they are better at
doing them than a middle-of-the-pack rep. 30%

This report addresses: 19%

17%
12% 13%

9%

Top 5% Top 10% Top 15% Top 20% Top 30% Top >30%
The 7 key attributes How coaching and What hiring managers
of a high-performing development help drive should look for in the % of reps
salesperson, and why consistent sales rep interview process to hire
they matter behaviors across the more top performers
entire team and elevate
average performers

7 Actionable Habits of Top Performers | 2

 Top performers know how to effectively companies with strong sales cycles get pigeon-
communicate value throughout the sales holed as “nice-to-haves” because the rep

01
Communicating process. The average salesperson can
sometimes confuse this with communicating
communicated value around a problem that
wasn’t meaningful or impactful enough for

Value
a value proposition, but there are clear
differences. Communicating value is the art
of quantifying the high-level value proposition
for each prospective customer, drilling down
from the generic promise, and tying it to the
buyer’s unique challenges and priorities. Even
the buyer to make a change. Top performers
recognize that they must have a conversation
rooted in metrics, objectives, and goals that
will help them identify where their value
proposition creates real business impact for
the buyer.

How good are

30%
your reps at 28
26 Top-Performing
communicating Reps 24
value to the 25% Rest of
24

customer? Your Reps

19
20%

of respondents
14
15% 13

10% 8 9
10 7

5% 4 4
3 3
1 2
1
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
lowest/worst highest/best

7 Actionable Habits of Top Performers | 3

 Top performers recognize the importance of heard. While body language and other physical
asking relevant, targeted questions throughout manifestations – facial expressions, seating

02
Asking Questions every sales conversation to gain a deeper
understanding of the customer’s point of view.
position, etc. – can easily be observed during
an in-person meeting, this becomes much

and Listening
How do top performers
pinpoint value for their
prospect? By asking
questions and listening
to the answers. Sales
leaders report that their
best salespeople have an
insatiable curiosity and
They go beyond superficial questions to identify
and validate customer needs and challenges.
In the interview process, candidates who are
armed with research and prepared with their
own questions are those who will do the same
with a customer in the sales cycle.
Top performers also possess another critical
skill – active listening. After asking questions,
they engage with verbal and nonverbal cues,
as well as confirm and clarify what they’ve
How good are
your reps at
30%
listening and
more difficult to gauge in a virtual environment
where most customer interactions are
happening remotely. Active listening is a skill
sales leaders must help reps develop, but it’s
also a trait. Coaches should encourage reps to
practice behaviors such as taking notes and
paraphrasing customer sentiments to show
they are truly paying attention. Alternatively,
it’s important to discourage distractions,
such as multitasking, that undermine active
listening during a sales meeting.
Top-Performing
26
25
Reps

never stop asking questions. asking good 25% 24

23
For the average salesperson, questions? Rest of 21
20% Your Reps
questions are a means to

of respondents
an end – a way to get to 15%
the pitch. 13 12
11
10% 10
9
7 8
5% 4
2 2
1 1 0 1
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
lowest/worst highest/best

7 Actionable Habits of Top Performers | 4

 For all salespeople, it’s important to strike While top performers spend quality time
a balance between empathy and ego. Top with quality prospects, average or bottom

03
Practicing performers toe this line by creating a
healthy tension in the sales cycle – they
performers may sometimes use empathy as a
crutch, which eventually becomes a barrier to

Empathy
establish a clear need for their product or
service by understanding the buyer’s needs,
but they do it without arrogance. The
opposite of an empathetic top performer is
someone who is focused only on pitching
and demonstrating their product or solution,
regardless of the prospect’s situation.
Empathy is one of the
most critical attributes of
a top performer, because
the sales cycle. Reps must be able to practice
empathy and also have courage to lead a
dialogue with prospects.
While empathy itself is innate in people, certain
components are skills – such as active listening
and asking questions – that can be developed
with the right coaching. Managers must model
the same empathetic behaviors that they
encourage their teams to practice.

it enables reps to truly

understand their buyer’s
perspective. Top performers How good are
understand that the more 30% 28
your reps at
they can relate to the demonstrating
25%
Top-Performing
24
prospect, the deeper the empathy? Reps

relationship will be. Reps 20%

Rest of
Your Reps 19

of respondents
19
can put themselves in the 18 18

shoes of their customers 15%

12
by doing research about 11 11

their business and industry, 10%

7 7
asking questions and 5
6
5% 4
listening actively, and 1 2
3 2 3
most importantly, focusing 0%
the conversation on the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
customer – not themselves. lowest/worst highest/best

7 Actionable Habits of Top Performers | 5

 Sales leaders agree that having a consistent Top performers align their activities with the
methodology across the organization is sales methodology, and know what it takes to

04
Using a Sales critical to build a team of top performers.
A methodology creates a common skillset,
uncover whether an opportunity is qualified –
and they don’t waste time on ones that end up

Methodology
toolset and mindset around the sales process.
For example, all salespeople should be unified
around the definition of a qualified opportunity
or a high-value activity. Without these common
definitions, salespeople might be spending too
much time in the wrong places.
as “no decision.”
Sales professionals are now doing most of their
work remotely. Management and onboarding
are more difficult in a virtual environment,
making a structured sales methodology
even more important. Building in frequent
and consistent check-ins, combined with
technology, data and analytics is critical

“ It’s
to ensure sales reps are able to continue
easy to be busy, being successful.

but not focused. ”

33
— Julie Thomas, President & CEO,
How good
ValueSelling Associates are your reps 30%
at using a 26
Top-Performing
repeatable sales 25% Reps
methodology?
Rest of 20 21
20
20% Your Reps

of respondents
15% 14
12
11
10%
8 8
7
6
5% 4
3
2 1 2 2
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
lowest/worst highest/best

7 Actionable Habits of Top Performers | 6

 Building a
When it comes to building a robust pipeline, top a disciplined prospecting cadence that is built
performers are more focused on discipline than into their daily activities, so that there is always
intensity. They are rigorous about prospecting, time dedicated to the activity. Aside from

05 High-Caliber
and do what it takes to reach the right people, making space for prospecting, top performers
with the right message, at the right time. These are targeted in their approach and know what
reps possess a mindset, supported by a set of it takes to create a real opportunity.

Pipeline skills – time management, identifying goals

and objectives, overcoming obstacles, making
phone calls – that leaders must develop through
sales training and coaching. They also maintain

Irrespective of their
achievements, prospecting
is often a rep’s least favorite
activity in the sales cycle.
However, overachievers How good are
recognize its importance in your reps at
30%
being able to consistently building a
25% Rest of 25 Top-Performing
add new opportunities to high-caliber Your Reps Reps 21
pipeline?
the pipeline. 20% 20
20

of respondents
19
17 16
17
15%
12

10%
8
6 6
5
5% 4
1 1 1
0
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
lowest/worst highest/best

7 Actionable Habits of Top Performers | 7

 When it comes to coaching, sales managers Where reps struggle, coaches should course

Staying Open
have a few key mandates. First, they must role correct and help them see what to do
model the right behaviors. Second, leaders must differently. But leaders should also celebrate

06
communicate consistently and clearly about achievements – even the little ones – to reinforce

to Coaching & their expectations for reps’ daily activities.

Their management philosophy should enable
leading indicators of success throughout the
sales cycle.

Development
sales reps to prioritize the activities that are
fundamental for success. When managers send
mixed messages about where sales reps should
spend their time, it becomes more difficult
for those reps to take action effectively
and efficiently.
Top performers love to learn
and are open to feedback.
When it comes to hiring
them, sales leaders should
look for signs of a learning How good are
30%
mindset: Do they invest in your reps at
staying open to Top-Performing
their personal development 25%
25
Reps
caoching and
outside of work? Do they sales training? 19 22
believe there is always more 20% 19 19 20

of respondents
to learn? Are they willing Rest of
Your Reps 15
and able to effectively self- 15% 13
evaluate their strengths and
areas for development? 10% 9 8
6 6
5 4 5
5%
2 2
1
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
lowest/worst highest/best

7 Actionable Habits of Top Performers | 8

 The highest-achieving sales reps have a From a development perspective, when a rep
short-term memory. Objection is a core part has a disappointment, a coach must help

Dealing with of being in sales, and those who can persevere

through it are the most successful. When top
07
Adversity
performers face adversity, they are resilient
and look for the lesson. Average performers
often take rejection or adversity personally,
and, as such, they struggle. It should not
be a salesperson’s goal to avoid failure.
Those who aren’t experiencing challenges
on a regular basis probably aren’t talking
to enough people.
them elevate out of the situation and see the
lesson for the future. A good coach will help
them pinpoint their blind spots and figure
out how to fix them. However, resilience is
something to hire for. Hiring managers should
ask scenario-based questions to uncover how
a candidate might deal with adversity. What
is the most difficult thing they faced in their
career? How did they react? What did they
learn? What would they do differently next
time? Asking these questions, and listening

“ Top
for key indicators of resilience, set managers

performers up to hire more top-performing salespeople.

realize that success

and failure are
on the same road. How good are
your reps dealing
30% 28
They’re not opposite.” with adversity 25
Top-Performing
Reps 26
and rejection? 25% Rest of
25
— Julie Thomas, President & CEO,
ValueSelling Associates Your Reps
20%

of respondents
15 15
16
15%
13

10% 9
7
6
5% 5
3
2 2 2
1 0
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
lowest/worst highest/best

7 Actionable Habits of Top Performers | 9

With the right coaching and development, many
average sales reps have the potential to become top
performers. For sales leaders, it is critical to look at
the entire sales team and diagnose each individual’s
challenges and potential for success.
About
ValueSelling Associates
ValueSelling Associates is the creator of the ValueSelling
Framework®, the practical and proven sales methodology
preferred by sales executives around the globe. Since 1991,
ValueSelling Associates has helped thousands of sales
professionals increase their sales productivity and realize
immediate revenue growth. We offer customized training
to Fortune 1000, mid-sized, and start-up companies to
keep it simple and drive sales results.
Connect and learn more.
T. +1 858 759 3565
E. Info@valueselling.com
valueselling.com
Copyright © 2021 ValueSelling Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.
While top performers typically possess these
7 habits – encompassing a high-achieving mindset,
skillset and toolset – every sales professional is
unique. When both managers and reps alike are
willing to hold up the mirror, build a concrete plan
and do the work, becoming a top performer
is achievable.
About
®
SellingPower
In addition to Selling Power magazine, the leading
periodical for sales managers and sales VPs since
1981, Personal Selling Power Inc. produces the Sales
Management Digest and Daily Boost of Positivity online
newsletters, as well as a series of five-minute videos
featuring interviews with top executives. Selling Power is
a regular media sponsor of the Sales 3.0 Conference.
Keep it simple. Drive results.
7 Actionable Habits of Top Performers | 10